Factors Affecting Research Productivity of Burn Surgeons: Results from a Survey of American Burn Association Members

Abstract

While previous studies have examined factors that affect research productivity for surgeons in general, few studies address research productivity specifically of burn specialists. This study aimed to identify factors that promote and impede research participation and productivity of burn surgeons and help elucidate what changes can be made by departments/divisions to improve the research productivity. A 44-question anonymous research survey tool was administered to burn surgeons who are members of the American Burn Association (ABA). The questions analyzed factors such as demographics, career accomplishments, current institution type, educational background, research background, barriers to conducting research, and current research productivity. Chi-square tests were used to analyze significance at P < .05. Most respondents reported not having any protected research time (71.4%) or resources provided by their institution (84.5%). A majority believed increasing regulatory policies/institutional review board restrictions have negatively impacted productivity (65.1%). Factors associated with positive impact on research productivity included having a mentor, conducting research prior to completing residency, and provision of research resources from the institution such as statistical support, start-up funds, grant writing support, and laboratory space. Age and sex had no statistical impact on research productivity. Burn surgeons are more likely to publish research and to receive grants when they have mentors, a history of research prior to completion of residency, and research resources from their institution. Barriers to research productivity include lack of institutional support, lack of protected research time, and increased regulatory policy.

Factors Affecting Research Productivity of Trauma Surgeons

“…Prior studies have further elaborated on these difficulties and issues that have arisen and affected the research productivity of surgeons throughout all fields. [4][5][6] One of the major factors of decreased surgeon research productivity is lack of support from their surgical department, which often presents itself as lack of protected research time, lack of department funding, and overall lack of support. Ko et al 2 reported that with healthcare system changes, more surgeons find the need to dedicate their time to administrative and clinical duties rather than research endeavors.…”

“…In addition, the overall survey content were derived from current evidence-based research. 4,5,8,9,14 Institutional resources and support were defined by the following parameters: statistical support, start-up funds, grant writing support, structured mentorship, research staff, laboratory space, equipment, financial support, and protected research time.…”

“…These studies have found the following factors to be associated with less research productivity of surgeons: lack of dedicated research time, lack of surgical department support, female gender, age, and advancements in surgical technology. [2][3][4][5] On the other hand, studies have found the following factors to benefit research productivity of surgeons: full support from surgical departments, interdisciplinary teams and tactics of improved communication of interdisciplinary teams, mentorship, and industry consulting payments for orthopedic surgeons specifically. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In this study, we sought to determine what characteristics and variables members of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) identify that contribute to improved research productivity.…”

The Impact of Hospital/University Affiliation on Research Productivity Among US-Based Authors in the Fields of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Acute Care, and Emergency General Surgery

“…11 The same study reports that mentorship, advanced degree, and membership in societies have a positive impact on research productivity. 11 Another study done on authorship in collaborative health research in Africa showed that affiliation with a top US university increased the likelihood of being a first and last author. 12 There has been little research within the surgical field on institutional affiliation and authorship trends.…”

An analysis of cross-continental scholarship requirements during neurosurgical training and national research productivity

“…19 In fact, the lack of protected time and institutional resources, including training in research design and conduct, has been identified as one of the greatest barriers to research involvement among physicians in various specialties. 9,21 Notably, however, a program's designation of a "research requirement" was not shown to have a significant impact on departmental productivity in the large neurosurgery resident cohort mentioned above. Authors of that study reasoned that research is engrained in the culture of many of the highly productive programs and does not require formal designation, while programs with an explicit requirement may be in the early stages of such a culture change.…”